


Body

by Lacrimosa (humanyubel)



Series: Wait a minute! [1]
Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Frontier
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternative Universe- No Digimon, Blacking Out, Body Dysphoria, Dysphoria, F/F, F/M, Gen, Hospitals, Loss of time, Memory Loss, Possessed Items, Possession, Temporary Character Death, Trans Female Character, Universe Alteration, mentions of injury, since they never specify in the anime/manga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:09:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/humanyubel/pseuds/Lacrimosa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"'Cos I've grown tired of this body<br/>A cumbersome and heavy body</p><p>I've grown tired of this body<br/>Fall apart without me body"<br/>-Mother Mother, Body</p><p>The day Kouichi died was the same as any other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Found Brimstone in My Garden

**Author's Note:**

  * For [burbs](https://archiveofourown.org/users/burbs/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What comes before the fall again?

The day Kouichi died was completely normal.

 

Today had been the day, she was going to walk up to her brother, look him in the eye, and say “I’m your older twin sister, Kimura Kouichi.” She’d say it before she lost her nerve and everything would be (mostly) okay. Sure, he’d question things. Probably not believe her, but he couldn’t deny it. They were identical twins.

 

She’d been known to get ahead of herself at times and she was headstrong. She didn’t know the meaning of “look before you leap”. Though she has known of all these more “negative” aspects of herself, she hoped that Koji can accept them as well. She had always been told that’s what siblings do for eachother.

 

Her hair stuck to her forehead, almost plastered there by sweat. No one turns to look at her, her presence demanding little attention. None the less she pulled her baseball cap lower over her eyes. The air is humid on the train and the people pack closely together. Everyone is fairly forgettable, but not her twin. He sticks out like a sore thumb. Maybe it’s an automatic response for her to always be able to pinpoint where he is in a room.

 

“Late late late…!” She pivots her head in the direction of the distressed voice. A boy about her age stands there, looking down at his phone. He runs his gloved fingers through his exposed brown locks. She feels her heart rate spike ever so slightly. Something wasn’t right.

 

Even from the the next car over she knew.

 

A professional voice called over the speakers to announce their stop. Kouichi moved to leave, noticing that this is also the boy’s stop. He exited the car, nearly on her brother’s heels. A throng of people separated her from her brother and she does her best to navigate through the adults around her. No one noticed her and they remained unmoving. She nearly screamed in frustration, just barely managing to exit the train right before the doors close.

 

“W...where did he go?!” She panicked for a moment, the blood in her veins turning to ice. She’s so stressed that she’s able to feel the beginnings of a headache, stomach clenching as black spots blink across her vision. She sees a dark pony tail and the flash of a bandana and she’s off, speed walking through the crowd. As he gets further away she can do nothing but run. He steps into an elevator and the door closes before she can reach it. She bangs her fists against the door panting through her teeth. She looks for the floor number and and makes a mad dash.

 

She barely feels the stairs under her feet until about halfway down she feels nothing. “ _Kouichi be careful , you know you have weak ankles._ ” She hears her mother say. How many times had she said that to her daughter? It doesn’t matter. Nothing but her falling, falling, falling, and not being able to meet Kouji matter.

 

The air’s been knocked out of her and she feels darkness creep into her vision. She wheezes out a breathy “K..ouji…”

 

She hears a shout, someone must be talking to her. There were too many voices, her head felt like she went toe to toe with a tennis ball machine. She felt shaking gloved hands touch her just as she loses consciousness.

 

\----

 

Takuya hadn’t thought his Dad could be this late to anything in his life. He was chronically tardy but this was a stretch. Shinya’s cake had fallen to the ground as an earthquake had passed. He hadn’t been terribly upset but his Mother had. She quickly cleaned it up, phone pressed between her ear and shoulder. She was still trying to contract their father.

 

“Takuya, take the mobile. You’re going to get Shinya a new cake. If you aren’t back in an hour I’m taking your brother out to eat.” He groaned internally, of course this was his Dad’s fault. He loved his Dad but he couldn’t help but blame this punishment on him.

 

“Okay Mom.” Great day this was turning out to be. At least he had had a lick of Shinya’s cake before it decided to become best friends with the floor. It had been delicious but he wasn’t about to tell Shinya that.

 

His mother hands him the money and he pockets the mobile. He leaves quickly, partially in hopes of getting it over and done with but mostly wanting to expend some of his energy. He felt like a bear trap and someone was teasing the trigger.

 

He runs down the familiar streets and passes a father and son kicking a soccer ball back and forth. Takuya doesn’t know them persee, he just knows that the boy goes to Shinya’s school. The father’s phone rings. and without thinking, he pulls it out to answer. “Jou? Is that yo-” he stops in the middle of the question when he sees the soccer ball roll down the street.

 

“I’ve got it!” Takuya calls out helpfully. He runs after it and twists his body to aim a powerful kick at the ball. It rolls to the father and son. He’s about to turn around to continue running to the train station when he notices headlights. His mind freezes for a second before his body lunges to the side, he rolls across the street and comes to a skidding stop. He faintly feels the tell tale burn of road rash. His heart is beating a mile per minute and his hat and goggles fall strangely on his head due to the impact.

 

He quickly stands and rights himself before continuing to run to his destination. He knew he could make the train if he tried.

  


He fumbles with the ticket dispenser. It wasn’t taking his money. He smoothes out his money and tries again. When the machine sucks his money in but no ticket comes out he’s ready to cry. Instead he bangs his head against the machine. The ticket finally exits the machine and he grins triumphantly.

  
“Lucky!” He grabs his ticket and takes off in a jog. He spots a boy with long hair pulled back into a ponytail. He’s wearing a strange yellow and blue bandana but the most noticeable thing about him is the look of utter indifference he sports on his fair face.

 

He pulls his eyes from the boy before him noticing that he’s about to miss his train. He sees the boy move towards his train. He speeds up hoping not to miss the train. Knowing his luck today the boy could get on but he’d miss the train.

 

He barely makes it on and when he finally passes through the doors, he lets out a sigh of relief. He settles there, thumb working over the mobile in his pocket.

 

He keeps glancing up at the boy and can’t help but feel the back of his neck tingle. Takuya was the kind of boy that prided himself on following his emotions and intuition first then anything else afterwards.

 

He checks his phone with one hand and taps a rhythm into his thigh with his free hand. He had thought his Mother or Father were calling.   


“Late late late!” he says quickly to himself.

 

A voice over the intercom speaks. It’s his stop. He makes his way following the boy closely. He seemed to part crowds wherever he went. He finds himself walking towards the stairs. He knew better than to run on stairs.

 

He hears a clang of skin and metal meeting harshly before the sound of harsh breathing and thundering footsteps greets his ears. He has to nearly jump to the side to avoid the person running towards him. The figure makes it about halfway down the stairs before their ankle gives out. They seem to fly and the moment lasts for what feels like millenia. Time works regularly again and they begin to fall.

 

Takuya’s rushing down the stairs before the stranger hits the ground. “Hey!” he shouts. People are screaming. He feels for a pulse and relief washes over him when he feels one, it beats erratically against his fingers.

 

A quiet “K..oji…” from the stranger is all he gets before they go limp in his arms.

 

He turns the stranger over onto their back and feels for anything broken. He lifts up the strangers shirt, gently pressing his hands to their skin, to check just in case.

 

“Call an ambulance! This person’s unconscious and needs all the help you can get!”

 

He thanks his Mom for making him watch those safety and first aid videos when Shinya was born. He doesn’t know much but he knows enough that he can help in this situation.

 

Now that he pays attention to details, he realizes that the person had to be about his age. The hat they had just been wearing lays on the floor next to their head. He picks it up and moves to place it on their stomach when his gaze is suddenly drawn to their face. His breath hitches in surprise, it was the boy from...Except it wasn’t. This stranger shared the boy’s face but it wasn’t him. This stranger had short blue hair and dark circles around their eyes. He feels his heart give, and for some reason he begins to cry. He’s compelled to take the boy’s hand and press them to the goggles atop his head. His goggles had always been his safety blanket, he hoped to comfort the unconcious boy in any way he could.

 

It’s a simple gesture that he can’t explain. It sends a jolt of pure electricity through his body. A shadow is cast over them, but Takuya doesn’t move. He stays like that until medics arrive. They take the boy with them and after his begged requests of taking him as well, they concede. No one appeared to be with the boy so he’d rather him not be alone through this.

 

When they arrive at the hospital they take the boy’s vitals and begin to rush around. He’s forced to wait outside until they stabilize him. Takuya had always hated hospitals, they were full of sick and dying people. He kicks at the floor with his foot, seeing if he can leave a mark.

 

“...Your friend is stabilized.” a doctor emerges from the room. He has a clipboard in his hands and there’s a gathering of sweat at his brow.

 

“...”

 

“He sustained a multitude of injuries. Sprained ankle, several fractured ribs, brain swelling and possibly a concussion- he hit his head very hard. He's in a coma. Chances are….n-”

 

“He isn’t my friend.” Takuya says, fists clenched tightly. He’s fighting back tears.

 

The doctor gapes at him for several moments.

 

“Then why are you here if he isn’t a friend?”

 

“I watched him fall...he wasn’t with anyone, I can’t let him go through this alone.” the doctor nods in understanding.

 

“You may go in for now.”

 

Takuya doesn’t wait for anything after that, he darts into the room and takes a seat next to the hospital bed. The boy’s attached to a few different machines and Takuya feels like crying again. He does so freely this time. He’s always been fairly compassionate and emanated a big brother vibe, but something is different this time.

 

He’s feeling emotions too strongly for a stranger.

 

Once again he gingerly takes a hand again. He leans so he's hunched over the boy, placing the boy's limp hand to his goggles. The room dims significantly. The hospital lights flicker and the shadows around them begin to deepen and elongate. Takuya pays them no heed, focused only on the injured boy before him.

 

The monitors he’s attached to begin to beep erratically, but only for a second.

 

“You….on...patient.” he only catches every few words the doctor murmurs outside. A few minutes later he feels a presence in the room. He doesn’t look up when he hears a clatter accompanied by a loud gasp.

 

The presence leaves the room in a hurry and returns a period of time later along with another.

 

“Kouichi!” it’s a woman’s voice, trembling as it hits his ears. He looks up at the woman speaking the unfamiliar name. “ _She must…_ ”

 

“Kouichi! What happened!” She’s staggering towards the boy laying in the hospital bed. Takuya looks away, looking at this woman break down was unbearable.

 

“....Kouichi...fell down some stairs. Nearly a whole flight.” his voice cracks and it’s at that moment that he realized that he’s terribly thirsty.

 

“K-Kouichi….” the woman sobs. She doesn’t question who he is and for that he’s grateful. He didn’t know how he could say “Hi I’m a random stranger that saw your son fall down and I insisted on coming with” without sounding creepy.

 

He leaves reluctantly, hoping the woman will be fine on her own. She’s dressed like every other nurse in this hospital and Takuya belatedly realizes that she _works_ here.

 

He goes to the front desk and asks for a piece of paper. He jots down his family’s phone number and asks to be informed on anything happening to that Kouichi kid.

 

With that he heads home, stomach growling. He takes his time, watching the sky go from yellow to orange until finally it’s a dark blue. The moon seems to mock him. When he finally does get home he’s greeted by his worried mother and a Shinya crashed out on the couch. The only light in the room comes from a small lamp and the muted tv.

 

“Where were you?!” his Mother asks, close to tears.

 

“I...there was an accident...a boy my age fell down some stairs and I saw it happen. I took him to the hospital because no one was there with him. I couldn’t let him go alone, Mom.” Takuya rubs at his eyes furiously.

 

“Is he okay?” his Mother asks, voice tentative.

 

“He sprained his ankle, fractured a few ribs, a really bad head injury, and now," Takuya forces himself to finish the sentence he started. “He’s in a coma, Mom.”

 

His Mother takes him into a tight embrace. Though she was often stressed and worried and spoke in a firm tone, she was by no means a bad Mother. He presses his face to her chest. In that moment he doesn’t feel ten-going-on-eleven. He feels like a small child.

 

“Are you okay, Takuya.”

 

“No.” he cries into her chest, soaking her shirt with his tears. He hadn’t wept like this on her since he was six.

 

They stand there hugging. Takuya can’t say for how long.

 

“Did Dad come home in time?”

 

“No, he didn’t come at all. He had a surprise meeting.”

 

“Oh.” that didn’t make him feel any better.

 

“You should get some sleep, Takuya.” Takuya’s Mother looks down at him.

 

“Okay, goodnight.”

 

“Goodnight.”

 

Even under a Mother’s watchful gaze, Takuya’s two shadows go unnoticed.

  



	2. Red Dragon Fly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takuya finds himself attached too fast.

Takuya can count his day from the time he wakes up by how many heart beats pass until he gets into Kouichi’s hospital room.

 

On his way he walks buys a few flowers for the injured boy. He looks around and feels a tingle at the base of his neck when his eyes sweep over the lilacs. He takes four of the delicate looking flowers and heads to the small register to pay. The shopkeeper is a well over middle aged man. His hair more grey than the black Takuya can see it once was. His face is wrinkled just enough to really bring out his smile lines.

 

The older shopkeeper smiles at him politely, but far from unkindly, and attempts to start small talk.

 

“What’s the occasion? Are these for a girlfriend? I can tie these up in ribbon for you if you’d like?” the old man reaches for a deep purple ribbon hanging behind him on the faded wood wall.

 

Takuya frowns slightly, not understanding the old shopkeeper.

 

“A stranger is in the hospital. He’s really hurt.”

 

“I see.” the shopkeeper wraps up the flowers anyways.

 

“How much?”

 

“Free of charge. I hope your friend recovers.”

 

“Thank you…?”

 

“Sawaguchi is fine.”

 

“Thank you Sawaguchi...san” Takuya reminds himself to add the san.

 

The few beats of silence aren’t oppressing like Takuya would have expected. Sawaguchi san looks at him with an understanding patience that would be just this side of unnerving if Takuya didn’t feel a peace with in himself.

 

“Have a good day. I have a feeling I’ll see you around Kanbara Takuya kun.”

 

Takuya can only muster a short “Sawaguchi san” in reply. Hands gently cradling the four lilac flowers he had “purchased”.

  


\----

When he gets to the hospital he’s allowed into Kouichi’s room fairly easy. Only having to explain he was there yesterday. The nurse at the front desk smiles at the flowers in his hands, and he supposes that also helps him out. The nurse leaves quickly to fill it with water for him. When she returns he smiles gratefully.

 

He makes his way to Kouichi’s room without a single hitch afterwards.

 

It’s cold and dark inside the room. There’s no sign of Kouichi’s mother, but in the low lighting Takuya can make out a blanket  that clearly isn’t the hospitals. He closes the door behind him, all noises outside of this room becoming muted and then finally fading away.

 

“Kouichi…” he tests the name out on his tongue and decides he likes it well enough. It’s easier saying it after the first time yesterday.

 

“Kouichi let’s get you some sunlight!” there is of course, no reply. Not a twitch or a change in the monitors hooked up to the boy.

 

Takuya makes it over to the curtains in a few steps and pulls them back to let the sun in and warm up the room. He feels a sensation in the back of his neck, like emotions that aren’t his.

 

“I brought you flowers, they’re lilacs…” Takuya moves over to his spot from yesterday, next to the boy’s hospital bed.

 

“You should wake up and see them…” he sighs to himself. He knew the boy couldn’t hear him and wouldn’t just wake up magically.

 

They boy begins to twitch and shiver in his bed and Takuya maneuvers around all the machines and wires and hugs him as gently as possible. It’s awkward leaning over Kouichi. Like the one english movie they had watched in class last year, Sleeping Beauty. Like the prince about to kiss the princess. He shakes off the thought, embarrassed by his thought process… The boy wouldn’t wake up magically because of a kiss.

 

He feels sick to his stomach, he can’t even feel Kouichi’s breath fanning over his face thanks to the oxygen mask he’s wearing. The shivering and twitching almost stops immediately. Takuya almost laughs, his brother Shinya always used to try and cuddle him as a baby.

 

**_“You’re like a furnace big brother!!”_ **

 

It’s not his brother he’s trying to warm up this time, unfortunately. It’s much more serious than his little brother wanting his own furnace so he could nap. Now he gently blankets himself over the other boy. He’s extra careful to put no pressure on him. Cuddling an unconscious stranger might be weird in any other case than this, but Takuya feels a need to help this boy...Kouichi.

 

He gently rests his goggle covered forehead against Kouichi’s bandaged forehead. He sighs through his nose. This was miserable.

 

\----

 

He stays there for a long while, muscles tense. It’s fine though, he feels as if someone’s hugging his heart. His heart feels light enough that he doesn’t hold back the sudden joy in him. He begins to sing softly, his voice a little too high to be soothing.

 

“Oh, red dragonfly… red dragonfly at twilight…  
I saw you for the first time while still a baby being carried on my sister's back…   
Could it be that long ago?” his Mom used to sing this for him, but he still stumbles over a few of the words, lyrics half forgotten.   
  
“Picking mulberries from the mountain field…   
And our little baskets…   
Was that all a dream?” He know’s he’s missing a verse somewhere so he just hums until he can remember the rest.   
  
“Oh, red dragonfly… red dragonfly at twilight…   
I see you resting there on the tip of the bamboo reed.”

 

He hears someone enter the room, but doesn’t bother to look at them. They clear their voice.

 

“What are you doing?” it was the doctor from yesterday.

 

“He was cold and shaking. I’m being careful.”

 

“I thought you said he was a stranger. Is it really appropriate?” The doctor’s voice sounds hard.

 

“I’m a big brother I used to do this for my little brother, I didn’t really think…” Takuya can’t explain why he did what he did.. Is doing what he’s doing.

 

There’s a tension in the room until it shatters with the doctor’s laugh and with that it melts completely away.

 

“I believe you, you’re very honest. But I had to make sure you weren’t hurting the patient. His Mother is coming to see him since it’s her 15 minute break.”

 

Takuya wants to say _“You don’t know me.. You only met me yesterday.”_ but he refrains. The doctor is smiling at him. There’s no need to object.

 

“I would like to check his vitals.” though his voice is light Takuya knows he means **“I am going to check his vitals, move.”**

 

He reluctantly moves and watches the doctor work. The man seems hardly professional but, he can’t help but be thankful for him.

 

“How is he?”

 

“No change.”

 

Takuya’s shoulders droop.

 

“Thank you.”

 

The doctor leaves quietly and then it’s only him and Kouichi. He reaches out, gently threading his fingers through Kouichi’s.

 

“You probably think I’m weird, huh? I’m sorry I’m so touchy feely.” Takuya sighs, thumb stroking over the other’s knuckles.

 

“I just… for whatever reason the thought of you or anyone being cold and alone makes me sick.”

 

“For a stranger you’re nice enough to my son.”

 

Takuya’s body jerks, only his hand unmoving.

 

“Ah…”

 

“Kimura.”

 

“Kimura ...san… I’m just here to keep your son company when you can’t.” Kimura  san looks distrusting for a second. She brushes the hair out of her son’s face and kisses his forehead. She then gingerly takes a seat on the edge of the bed.

 

Not once does he let go of the hand in his, it feels disrespectful but a part of him refuses. The three of them simply exist in the room together. It feels like a year, but Takuya remembers the doctor saying she only has fifteen minutes.

 

Kimura san stands up and leans over to stroke her son’s cheek. She looks ready to cry again. Her eyes slide over to Takuya and then his hand on Kouichi’s.

 

“Okay.” she says simply.

 

\----

 

His visits are the same throughout the week. He’d sit in near silence, sometimes singing, for Kouichi. Every visit without fail he’d find a way to keep Kouichi warmer. He had even brought his own blanket in on the fifth day of this. Kouichi’s mother would come every break and sometimes they would talk.

 

“How old are you?”

 

“I’ll be eleven this august.” Takuya hums.

 

“Kouichi is already eleven…” she trails off, wiping at her eyes.

 

“It’s okay to cry Kimura san, he’s your son. It’ll hurt more to bottle things up.”

 

Like a dam had broken, she wept. Takuya had known her long enough, even if only for a few days, that he didn’t feel as awkward the first time.

 

He places a hand on her shoulder and she whips her head up break neck fast. Her face pulls into a grimace and her cheeks flush darkly. She sobs harder, shoulders shaking harshly. He isn’t sure what makes him do it...it must be his empathetic side shining through too brightly. He slides in between Kimura san and Kouichi on the small hospital bed. Without breaking his hold on Kouichi’s hand he brings Kimura san into a fierce one-armed hug.

 

If she thinks a mostly stranger, sort of acquaintance through tragedy, eleven year old hugging her is strange, she doesn’t say so.

 

“It’ll be okay.” he says. Even if he doesn’t entirely believe himself, he wants to reassure her.

 

“I want my son to be okay.”

 

Takuya doesn’t say anything.

 

\----

 

Kouichi’s mother leaves after washing her face and taking a few deep breaths. When the door’s closed he moves closer to Kouichi on the bed.

 

Chuckling, he brushes the hair out of Kouichi’s face. Kouichi’s mother had done that a lot in the past few days and he was unable to stop himself. “Maybe after this we can hang out?”

 

Of course, the only reply he gets is from the beeping of the machines.

\----

His walk home that night was fairly uneventful until it wasn’t.

 

After passing the flower shop he pulls out his mobile. He had to call his Mom to let her know he’d be on his way home. Quickly dialing the number, the phone began to ring. Unfortunately after waiting for a minute the sound of the family voicemail washes over his ears.

 

“Hey Mom… I’m on my way home.” he hangs up the mobile and quickly pockets it. He knows it was rude not to say hello but he wanted to get it over with. The air’s slightly chilly so he pulls his light jacket closer to him.

 

A boy with long blue hair tied into a low ponytail walking a dog that was much too big for him came barreling towards him. He feels a sense of deep urgency before he’s knocked over and his world goes dark.

 

\---

 

Kouichi finds herself falling flat on her rear, she looks to the boy that knocked her over and her breath catches. _It was him._ He’s only able to spare her an apologetic glance before his large dog continues to drag him on.

 

Kouichi scrambles to her knees, hand desperately reaching out to the rapidly retreating back in front of her.

 

“KOUJI-” ... that wasn’t her voice. It was too high and hoarse.

 

KoUji freezes and looks back at her with a blush on his face. He looks almost as surprised as she does. She doesn’t miss the flash of recognition that crosses his face.

 

She looks at the gloved hands that surely aren’t hers. They were a strange shade of green, probably olive, that she would never wear. She feels a foreign pressure on her ribs and chest that she can’t help but panic over.

 

“W...what..?” she looks to the shop window and nearly jumps out of her skin...this skin. A boy about her age, slightly shorter and with wider hips.. She knew this face. It was the boy from the train station that had been in the same car as her brother.

 

Why was he looking back at her? Where was she?

 

Her brother looks at her… the boy from before.. Curiously, like he doesn’t understand why she’s having a life crisis. Like he doesn’t get that her world’s been turned upside down completely. Though she’s impulsive and by no means a coward...She does the only thing she can.

 

She runs.

 

She runs to where her Mom works. It hurts so bad running, her ribs feel about ready to collapse. A few times she nearly stops but she needs to see her Mom. It takes longer to get to the hospital than she had hoped it would. She rushes through the doors and to the front desk. The nurse at the front desk smiles at her. She’s panting harshly and probably looks like a mess but she can’t help it. She opens her mouth to speak but the nurse already beats her to it.

 

“You really couldn’t keep away could you? But running back here? You just left…”

 

Kouichi doesn’t understand. She wasn’t just here, she was… At the train station.

 

“I can give you ten more minutes okay? Go up to room 402, I’ll page a nurse to get you when it’s time to go.”

 

She’s about ready to scream she wasn’t here to visit she needed to see her Mom! She’s about to tell the nurse so when she sees that the nurse is back to work. All she could do was head up to visit whoever it was in the hospital, she’d get in trouble if she just ran off to find her Mom. She’d do that if that didn’t run the risk of getting her Mom fired.

 

Her Mom had always worked in hospitals for as long as she could remember, but she was sure no one could ever get used to the smell of them. It smelled like chemical cleaner and death in here and as much as the smell unnerves her, she isn’t one to back down.

 

She walks down the hall and decides to take the elevator, for some reason looking at the stairs makes all the hair on her body stand on end. She’d always been clumsy but she’d never been afraid of stairs before.

 

The elevator dings a few times as she goes up higher. When the doors open she looks around her at the fourth floor waiting room. There’s only a few people in the chairs at this hour. A doctor she’s only seen a handful of times smiles at her.

 

“Back so soon?”

 

She doesn’t reply, how is she supposed to tell him that she _wasn’t_ just here? She walks faster to her destination, praying that she’ll run into her Mom along the way.

 

She hears crying as she gets closer to the room, it sounds like her Mother’s. She doesn’t care that she shouldn’t be running in a hospital, she sprints to the room and jerks the door wide open.

 

It’s dark and cold in here so she turns the lights on.

 

Her heart stops.

 

She found her Mother...and her body.

 

She was laying there in a hospital bed, her Mother crying over her unconscious body. Machines were attached to her body and her heart speeds up and so does the beeping of the monitor.

 

“What… what is happening? What is…”

 

Her Mother looks to where she is at the doorway in shock, her eyes bloodshot and wet from her crying. She looks back to where… her real body is lying in the hospital bed.

 

“Kouichi-!” she says to the unconscious body.

 

Kouichi feels overcome with dread.

 

“Mom.. what happened to me..?” she was wearing a hospital gown and her forehead was wrapped in gauze. She can tell the neck brace is new, but not much else.

 

She feels darkness creep into the corner of her vision, and finally she fades out. She collapses right there where she stood.

 

The machines calm down and regulate themselves.

 

\---

 

Takuya wakes up inside the front passenger side of his Mom’s old car. He presses his face against the cold window, his head pulsed in time with his rapid heart beat.

 

“Takuya,” his Mother’s tone is clipped, the one word laced with frustration.

 

“Takuya, you said you were coming home. I called and a doctor picked up.”

 

“What? What doctor...I went to the hospital and then I was walking home.” why would he be at the hospital?

 

“They said you came charging in and that you fainted. Really, you should give your chest a break. It’s not good to wear it for so long everyday…”

 

She’s talking, that much he can tell but he can’t hear a word she says. His eyes widen as he stares out of the window. He had fainted at the hospital? The last thing he remembers is getting knocked over by… the boy from the train station and his massive dog. He’d just passed the flower shop there was no way he could’ve passed out at the hospital.

 

“I’m sorry, Mom.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay, I’m not grounding you this time because you were somewhere safe and you’ve been worn out this whole week but...Don’t let it happen anymore.”

 

He can’t hum, doesn’t know if it will happen again or not.

 

“... doctor says…..spike in the boy’s readings ...you entered the room.”

 

“Huh?” Takuya asks, only catching a few of the words.

 

“The doctor says there was a spike in the boy’s readings at about the same time you entered the room. You know you really gave that boy’s mother a scare.”

 

He had fainted in Kouichi’s hospital room?

 

“Is Kouichi okay?”

 

His mother turns her head slightly away from the road to face him better.

 

“Who?”

 

“The boy.”

 

“Oh… I think so?”

 

Takuya finds himself sighing in relief.

 

\----

 

Shinya’s passed out on the couch when they unlock the door to their house. By the way his neck hangs backwards Takuya knows he’s going to be sore tomorrow. He’s only slightly frustrated that Shinya waited up for him, really, his brother needs to worry less.

 

Takuya hears more than he sees, his mother enters the kitchen to start the coffee maker. He feels bad, she has work early the next morning and he had wasted a few hours of her shut-eye. He feels sluggish still but he hoists Shinya over his shoulder and carries his little brother to bed. He nearly stumbles a few times but catches himself each time without dislodging Shinya from his only marginally precarious position.

 

He toes the room open and groans. It was like a battle field with toys on the floor.

 

He takes his time stepping around the room, trying his best not to fall and break his and Shinya’s necks. He pulls back his brother’s sheets and does his best to tuck him into the rumpled sheets. They look like they were put on sideways. After fixing the bed to the best of his ability Takuya takes a moment to look down at his brother. There were enough years between them that they didn’t share many interests, but not enough to be awkward.

 

He reaches out and pushes some of Shinya’s hair out of his face, the same light brown he had. Shinya’s eyes flicker open and he yawns.

 

“Big brother?”

 

“Yeah?’

 

“Are you okay?” he’s puzzled by the seemingly random question.

 

“Of course I am, what do you mean by that?”

 

“You’ve been weird ever since my birthday, cause of that friend of yours right? And…”

 

“And what?”

 

“When you’re around, it’s like it’s not just you. Like there’s someone else.”

 

“Are you saying I’m haunted or something?” his poor attempt of a joke comes off more as pathetic than comical.

 

“...” This was like the time Shinya had insisted that Tanaka san down the street (with her bird feeding habits) was actually a bird monster in human disguise. Except...this was more serious. Shinya looked almost scared.

 

“Shinya you’re just too supersti-”

 

“I’m not kidding!” Shinya looks too distressed for words.

 

“What should I do if I am haunted, Shinya.” he can humor Shinya just this once.

 

“Try talking to it?”

 

Takuya balks, scratching the back of his head.

 

“I thought you _weren’t_ supposed to talk to them?”

 

“But imagine how cool it’d be if I could go around telling people that my big brother talks to ghosts?”

 

“I’ll think about it…”

\----

 

He doesn’t intend to actually think about it, but he does. It keeps him up throughout the night, his insides twisting.

 

So he waits. He waits until his mom goes to work and Shinya skips over to a friend’s. He takes his wallet and embarks to the flower shop. He’s only been over once but every time he’s passed the flower shop it’s been empty save for the old man. Today he’s greeted by the old shop owner and a younger woman.

 

“Kanbara Takuya kun, back so soon?”

 

“...”

 

“This is my niece, she moved back into the area to spend time with me and help with the shop.”

 

His niece has bleached blonde hair, her red roots obvious. She doesn’t look older than twenty five but she has a very serious face, her eyes kind. She’s dressed in varying shades of blue and wears a silver cross necklace. She has atleast three feet on him too and he has to admit that’s...a little scary trying to look up into her face. Her lips are painted a pale pink.

 

“I need four lilacs,”

 

“Are they for your girlfriend or the stranger?”

 

“I need to talk to someone.”

 

The old shop owner hums at him and tells his niece to gather Takuya’s items. She does so silently, not wasting any time.

 

“How much will it be?” he has the money ready this time.

 

“Free of charge. You are my favorite customer... Though just a few days ago a boy came in searching for flowers for his mother. He was kind enough and seemed embarrassed to be doing so.”

 

Takuya can’t find it in him to ask the old man to not continue telling him about other customers.

 

He places the money on the counter after the old man’s niece wraps the flowers, just like last time. The old man smiles, accepting the money even after rejecting it initially.

 

“Don’t lose faith, you can figure out the answers to all of your problems if you keep thinking. Don’t be discouraged by bumps in the road. Everything that will happen will happen for a reason.”

 

Takuya jumps at the unexpected voice of the niece. Her voice is level and calm, but like the old man there is a kindness to her.

 

“Do not forget this, Kanbara Takuya kun, not every choice coming up will be yours to make.”

 

He’s rendered speechless because of her words. He doesn’t know what to say so he walks out of the door, face red.

 

\----

  


He locks his door after closing it. Then he closes the blinds for good measure.

 

“This is so…”

 

He looks at the flowers he had set on his bedside table. “Ridiculous..”

 

He sits on his bed, legs folding under him. He clears his throat, smiling.

 

“Is there anyone there?” the room is silent, mocking him.

 

“C’mon if there’s anyone here, I brought you flowers!”

 

It’s hot in his room and the smell of lilacs permeates. It’s too dark to see much of anything. But he sees no bloody hand prints on his wall. No calls received on his mobile. No chains rattling or ghastly cackling.

 

His head throbs and he’s too clammy to be wearing his hat in his room right now. He flings his hat and goggles off of his head on a whim. They fall soundlessly to the carpet and that’s probably the worst thing they could do right now. He pulls out the lighter he keeps on him and ignites a tiny flame.

 

After a minute he glances up from the tiny flame to see a bright purple flash of light come from his goggles. His flame goes out and he’s left to shield his eyes from the blinding light. When he opens his eyes again his mouth falls open in a silent “o”.

 

Before him stood the boy from the hospital…

 

Kouichi.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title inspired by the song Takuya sings. "Red Dragonfly"  
> Translated lyrics from here http://www.berkeleysangha.org/shm/akatmus.htm


	3. Bit by Bit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takuya may or may not be a little in over his head.

Kouichi opens her eyes to see the boy from the train staring at her in shocked awe. The room is dark and the only thing illuminating the boy’s face is a soft purple glow. She realizes that the purple glow is coming from her. Her skin has taken on a translucent quality and a line of blue code covers her up. She looks like a computer virus ghost.

“K-Kouichi…” the boy says.

Up close and in less of a panic she is able to observe and take in his features better. The boy has a button nose and a pleasantly round face. His skin is darker than hers by a few shades, half natural skin tone and half time spent in the sun. She notes that even though she’s floating above him, she’s much taller than him, probably by about a head.

“Who are you?” she thinks. She knows this boy. Even before the subway, the feeling had been Déjà vu. Soft chestnut hair, warm brown eyes full of courage. Her face lights up as she smiles.

“Takuya.” her voice is deeper than Takuya’s and for a moment she’s self conscious about that.

“I-I uh… I got you flowers?” He says but it comes out as more of a question than the statement he intended it to be. His cheeks flush a light pink and if Kouichi could blush her face would be bright red. No one had ever gotten her flowers before.

She leans down to touch them but her hand goes right through them. She is filled with disappointment.

“My little brother Shinya told me to do this I didn’t actually think it’d work. I was wondering...do you know what happened to me last night? I was found in the hospital.”

Kouichi runs a hand through her dark blue, it defies gravity already and she’s only making it worse. So last night wasn’t just a dream. This was really happening.

“I was on my butt, well on yours? My brother had knocked you down. I called out to him but it was your voice. I freaked out and saw my reflection, I was in your body. I ran to where my Mom works because I was confused and my ribs hurt,” she begins. Takuya stares at her blankly for a moment.

“You freaked out because of my binder?” he stifles a laugh into his hand.

“Your what? Anyways I got to the hospital and they said I was there already. I was directed to room 402 and when I got there I heard crying. It was so dark. I turned on the light and there was my mom crying over my body…”

Takuya winces in sympathy. He reaches out a gloved finger to pat her shoulder but it passes through. As it does the pair shiver.

“So you possessed me? What makes you possess m-” Kouichi watches realization flash in his eyes. She’d laugh if she didn’t feel close to tears.

“My goggles?”

“I don’t know, Takuya!”

“This is- this is..! If someone had told me that some boy I’ve never met before was going to possess my goggles and take over my body a week ago then I would’ve told them to take a hike!” Takuya grips the lighter in his hand tightly. His eyes close and he takes a few calming breaths, exhaling from his nose. Kouichi’s gone silent. When Takuya looks to the spirit, Kouichi’s face is scrunched up in outrage.

“You think I’m a boy?”

“Well that's what your mom says and the doctors too I haven’t exactly gotten to talk to you before now.” Takuya doubts himself as soon as the words escape him. It feels like he had always known Kouichi.

“I’m a girl and my mom...doesn’t know.” Kouichi had been defensive up to that point but her shoulders slump.

“I’m sorry for assuming things, Kouichi.”

“I’d say it’s okay but it’s not. I forgive you, Takuya.” she says, looking at the floor. After a minute she looks at Takuya through her eyelashes.

“The flowers you got me are really beautiful. What do they mean?”

“Mean?”

“Flowers have a meaning, I think _red roses mean passionate love_ or something like that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” I saw them and knew I had to get them for you. He fidgets on the bed a little when Kouichi levels her stare at him.

“Why do you have a lighter?” Kouichi’s head tilts to the side as she inquires. Surely he doesn’t smoke? It looks innocent enough but Kouichi’s curious and perhaps a little worried. Takuya wasn’t that old and her Mother had told her about all the risks of smoking.

“I like fire. It’s warm and I like everything hot. I’ve never burned myself, Shinya says I’m magic... hah.” He tries to sound carefree but Kouichi’s looking at him seriously.

“Magic huh? So I’m some weird computer virus ghost possessing a magical arsonist?”

“Hey now! I’m not an arsonist, Kouichi!” Takuya’s face flushes again and he pouts as Kouichi laughs heartily at him. She moves over to float above Takuya’s green sheets in a sitting position. It hurts Takuya’s eyes to look at the spirit for long but he endures it.

“Now that we’re friends…” Kouichi’s face flushes at that but Takuya can’t tell. “Mind telling me what you were running down those stairs for?”

Any traces of a smile left Kouichi’s face. She looks close to tears as she grits out “I had to meet my brother.”

“Meet him?”

“We’re identical twins, I’m the older twin and our parents are separated. They each took one of us and never told either of us. I found out from my grandmother as she was on her deathbed. I’ve been so lonely all my life,” She takes in a deep breath though she doesn’t need to.

“When I found out... I felt like things were going to look up. I resented my mom a little for not telling me but she was the only one there for me other than my grandmother. I followed him for two weeks, trying to talk to him but I could never gather the courage I needed. Funny how my mom says I’m impulsive…” She takes one look over to Takuya’s face and he urges her to finish with his eyes.

“I worked up my courage but the elevator doors closed behind him before I could get to him. I have to meet him, Takuya!”

Determination fills Takuya’s eyes like water fills any container. He reaches out to catch her hand but it passes through. As if she isn’t there. She supposes that’s true. A being who both is and isn’t. Takuya’s fists clench against his knees.

“We can do this, Kouichi!”

\-----

Looking back on himself from earlier before he felt that all he had said had only been wishful thinking. He had no clue where her twin lived. She insists that she knows where he lives and that's all that matters.

**Author's Note:**

> IVE WATCHED TOO MUCH YUGIOH. INSPIRED BY http://burbsbear.tumblr.com/post/57916472845/takuyakouichi-fake-dating-going-to-school-with .  
> If you see this Burbs, know that I am fully crediting you for the inspiration of this. You and Yugioh.  
> Most chapter titles inspired by Mother Mother lyrics because I'm trash.


End file.
